Metabolomic analysis of untargeted bovine uterine secretions in dairy
cows with endometritis, using ultra-performance liquid
chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Abstract
Endometritis is among the most common bovine uterine diseases. It may
cause infertility and affect the sustenance and progress of the cattle
industry. In this study, a novel metabolomics technique based on
ultra-performance liquid chromatography/ quadrupole time-of-flight mass
spectrometry was used to compare the uterine secretion metabolomics of
healthy cows and those with clinical endometritis, classified based on
clinical symptoms. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses
identified significant differences between groups. Compared with healthy
uterine secretion samples, coumaric acid, benzoic acid, and equol were
downregulated in the clinical endometritis samples. However,
L-phenylalanine, glutamine, succinic acid, linoleate, arachidonic acid,
and other metabolites were significantly upregulated, revealing
significant variations between healthy cows and those with endometritis
(p < 0.05). This metabolomics approach may provide a more
in-depth understanding of the pathobiology of endometritis and a
theoretical framework for the diagnosis and treatment of bovine
endometritis.